Vance County Schools hosted another "Community to Schools" event on Friday, December 7, with community leaders visiting four of our local public schools to learn more about what educators and students are working on during a typical school day.

Superintendent Anthony Jackson and other key school system leaders escorted the business, church, civic and public service agency representatives on visits to L.B. Yancey Elementary School, Vance County High School, STEM Early High School and Vance County Middle School. The visits were held during a four-hour period in the morning.

At each of the schools, school administrators greeted the touring group. They showed the participants key advances and programs for our students at the elementary, middle and high school levels. Those who participated in the school visits were able to go into classrooms and see teachers and students at work and they visited computer labs, educational workrooms and the new Vance Virtual laboratories at the middle and high schools.

Dr. Carnetta Thomas, principal of L.B. Yancey Elementary School, introduced the tour group to several of her teachers and students who were actively engaged in classroom work. She also had them visit with students, parents and staff during the school's special "Books & Breakfast" event held throughout the school and featuring parents eating breakfast with the students and then going into various parts of the school to read with and to student groups.

During their visit to Vance County High School, Principal Rey Horner welcomed the tour participants and talked about the many programs and services provided to students in his school including the Vance Medical Academy, Fire & Public Safety Academy, varied Career and Technical Education programs, expanded extra-curricular activities for students and the newly expanded athletics programs for male and female students. The group also visited the school's newly renovated cafeteria and music room. They received hands-on experiences in the Vance Virtual lab, located in the school's media center, as student ambassadors showed them how the zSpace digital student learning centers provide three-dimensional studies for students through special software applications in a variety of subject areas.

Horner noted that the newly consolidated high school, now with more than 1,100 students, has had a smooth beginning to the new school year and he and his staff are continuing to provide additional educational opportunities to their students.

The tour group then visited the STEM Early High School and saw firsthand how teachers and students focus on project-based learning particularly in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math. Assistant Principal Melonee Hunter led the visit and was assisted by an outstanding group of student leaders. The tour participants were able to visit several classrooms to see how students work in groups to collaborate on projects teachers challenge them to complete as teams.

The final stop for the "Community to Schools" tours was Vance County Middle School where Principal Heddie Somerville welcomed the group to the newly consolidated school that serves over 900 students in grades 6-8. The facility, formerly known as Northern Vance High School, has been renovated to accommodate the middle school population and Somerville stressed that more work will be done to the facility throughout the school year and the upcoming summer to provide additional educational enhancements for students. Her school's student ambassadors led a visit for the tour participants in the Vance Virtual lab and demonstrated how students use the digital student learning centers to enhance classroom instruction through the use of state-of-the-art technology.